When you need to drain your pool to make repairs, the city encourages you to use this water to irrigate your landscape. City Code prohibits homes, businesses and HOA’s from discharging your swimming pool water into the street or directly into a sewer manhole.
If you have excess water from your pool that cannot be used to irrigate your landscaping, residents can use their home’s sewer clean out, if done properly. It’s important to understand if you use your sewer clean out to drain your pool, you may be liable for any backup or other damage caused by draining a swimming pool into the city sewer.
A sewer cleanout is an important part of your home’s plumbing system. Plumbing professionals use them to clear sewer line backups within your home.
Typically, they are located in either your front or back yard, and are usually near a bathroom or kitchen. A sewer cleanout has two six inch caps about a foot apart with an octagon nut on top.
If your home is less than twenty years old, it’s likely the contractor who built your home also installed your sewer cleanout. If your home is twenty years old or older, you may not have a sewer cleanout. If you’ve done any remodeling to your home, like a patio or room addition, it’s possible your sewer cleanout was covered over during the remodel.
In addition, some homeowners have difficulty finding their sewer cleanout. Over the years, your home’s landscape changes and plants may have covered it up.
Sewer cleanouts are part of your home’s private plumbing system and are separate from the city’s sewer system. Unfortunately, the city of Buckeye does not have any records on file to show where your sewer cleanout is located on your property.
Buckeye’s Water Resources regularly treats its sewer system for pests as part of our ongoing maintenance and preventative program. We do not treat privately owned sewer systems or any part of the storm drain system.
Helpful Tips:
If insects have entered your home, we strongly encourage you contact a private pest control company. Most pests are attracted to food and water, so eliminating these sources in and around your home is the first step towards a pest free home.
- Make sure that all drains in your home are used at least once per week.
- Regular use of your home’s entire plumbing system helps maintain a water barrier in the P-trap (the U-shaped pipe underneath each sink and fixture).
- This will also prevent pests that may be in the line from entering your home through the plumbing.
- If you are experiencing a problem with pests, you can also pour one cup of household bleach down each drain in your home.
- This will flush out any pests in your sewer pipes and also make the water in the P-traps undrinkable for them.
